European Commission releases implementation guidance for political advertising rules

The European Commission has released draft guidance to support implementation of Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising, marking a significant step toward enhanced oversight of political advertising across the European Union. The comprehensive working paper, published in 2025, provides detailed clarification on obligations for sponsors, service providers, and publishers involved in political advertising services.

According to the guidance document, the new rules establish harmonized standards across the EU internal market for political advertising services. The regulation addresses the increasing complexity and cross-border nature of political advertising, alongside growing concerns about foreign information manipulation and interference in democratic processes.

Summary

Who: The European Commission published guidance affecting sponsors, political advertising service providers, publishers, content creators, and ad technology providers across the European Union.

What: Draft guidance for implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on political advertising transparency and targeting, establishing harmonized rules for labeling, record-keeping, and cross-border restrictions.

When: The guidance was published in 2025, with most regulation provisions taking effect in autumn 2025 and the European repository launching by April 2026.

Where: The regulation applies across all European Union Member States, covering both online and offline political advertising services within the internal market.

Why: The guidance addresses increasing complexity in cross-border political advertising, rapid growth in online political advertising, advanced targeting techniques, and threats from foreign information manipulation and interference in democratic processes.

The guidance defines political advertising broadly to encompass "preparation, placement, promotion, publication, delivery or dissemination, by any means, of a message" under specific circumstances. These circumstances include messages by, for or on behalf of political actors, unless purely private or commercial in nature, and messages "liable and designed to influence the outcome of an election or referendum, voting behaviour or a legislative or regulatory process."

Political actors under the regulation include political parties, candidates for elected office, members of Union institutions, political campaign organizations, and entities representing these groups. The definition extends beyond traditional campaign messaging to encompass issue-based advertising that could influence legislative or regulatory processes.

Service providers face substantial due diligence requirements under the new framework. Providers of political advertising services must ensure contractual arrangements enable compliance with relevant provisions, including responsibility allocation and information accuracy requirements. These obligations apply throughout the value chain, from preparation and placement to publication and dissemination.

Article 7 requires all advertising service providers to determine whether requested services constitute political advertising under the regulation's definition. Providers must implement functional methods for collecting sponsor declarations and necessary information to streamline compliance processes while reducing administrative burden.

The regulation introduces strict restrictions on third-country involvement in political advertising. During the three months preceding any election or referendum, political advertising services pertaining to that election can only be provided to EU citizens, non-EU citizens permanently residing in the EU with voting rights, or legal entities not controlled by third-country nationals or entities.

Record-keeping obligations require providers to maintain specific information for seven years after service provision ends. This includes details about the political advertisement or campaign, specific services provided, amounts invoiced, sponsor identity and contact details, and connections to elections or regulatory processes.

Political advertising publishers bear additional responsibilities for labeling and transparency. Each political advertisement must include both a label and transparency notice, which can be provided directly through the label or published separately with clear retrieval instructions. These transparency measures build upon existing industry initiatives to enhance public understanding of advertising funding sources.

The European repository for online political advertisements represents a central component of the transparency framework. Publishers of online political advertising must coordinate with this repository, which the Commission will establish through implementing acts by April 10, 2026. The repository will include standardized metadata, authentication protocols, and application programming interfaces to enable information aggregation through a single portal.

Notification mechanisms require publishers to implement accessible, user-friendly systems enabling individuals to report non-compliant advertisements. During the month preceding elections or referendums, publishers must process relevant notifications within 48 hours, though micro to medium-sized undertakings need only make best efforts for timely processing.

Content creators face particular obligations when engaged in political advertising services. When acting as political advertising publishers, content creators must request sponsor declarations, implement labeling requirements, establish notification mechanisms, and contribute to the European repository. Online platforms may provide tools to facilitate compliance, though this does not transfer liability from content creators.

The regulation recognizes challenges faced by small and medium enterprises through tailored requirements. Micro-undertakings for which advertising services represent only marginal activities are exempted from record-keeping obligations. SMEs receive extended deadlines for authority information requests and may appoint external contact points for regulatory interactions.

Ad technology providers and publishing interface operators share responsibility under the regulation's framework. The allocation of responsibilities should be established through contractual arrangements to avoid duplication of labeling and transparency efforts while ensuring all obligations are met.

Targeting and ad-delivery techniques face additional restrictions under Chapter III of the regulation. These rules prohibit profiling based on special categories of personal data, including information revealing political opinions, race, or health status. The regulation also bans targeting techniques toward individuals known to be at least one year under voting age.

The guidance emphasizes that determining political advertising requires holistic analysis considering multiple factors. These include message content, sponsor identity, language used, dissemination context and timing, distribution methods, target audience characteristics, and underlying objectives.

Enforcement mechanisms include sanction systems applicable to providers and sponsors, with Member State competent authorities responsible for supervision. The regulation establishes information request procedures allowing authorities to verify compliance, with shortened response times during election periods.

Interested entities including vetted researchers, journalists, political actors, and civil society organizations may request information from providers under Article 17. Providers must transmit requested information free of charge when technically possible in machine-readable format, though reasonable fees may apply for significant processing costs.

The Commission indicates plans for targeted consultations and potential prototype Repository testing with relevant publishers before full deployment. Early adoption of implementing acts for metadata standards aims to provide publishers sufficient preparation time for new requirements.

Legal representatives must be designated by service providers offering political advertising services in the Union without Union establishment. These representatives require registration with competent authorities in Member States where services are offered and bear responsibility for ensuring compliance.

Timeline

• 2019 - Google launches Ads Transparency Center, initially focused on political advertisements
• March 2023 - noyb files complaints against German political parties for microtargeting practices
• March 11, 2024 - EU Council adopts Regulation 2024/900 on political advertising transparency and targeting
• December 7, 2024 - Google announces withdrawal from EU political advertising ahead of new rules
• December 13, 2024 - European Data Protection Supervisor rules Commission violated privacy laws in targeted advertising campaign
• 2025 - European Commission publishes draft implementation guidance
• Autumn 2025 - Most provisions of Regulation 2024/900 take effect
• April 10, 2026 - Commission deadline for implementing acts establishing European repository